Where AI fits in project work

Module 1: AI in project work

Course outline

Quick check

Guess first, no penalty. In a Harvard study, 758 consultants did realistic tasks with or without AI. On a tricky business problem picked to be outside what AI does well, what happened to the people using AI?

The Harvard Business School study with Boston Consulting Group (2023) found two results. On tasks inside AI's abilities, consultants using it completed 12.2% more tasks, 25.1% more quickly, with better quality. On the task outside them, they were 19% less likely to be correct. The researchers call the uneven edge between the two a "jagged technological frontier".

Project work splits along that frontier:

  1. Shaping information: notes, summaries, status drafts. Inside.
  2. Deciding: what to cut, what to escalate (raise to someone senior). Outside. It depends on your project and people.
  3. Delivering through people: persuading, chasing, noticing the sponsor (the senior person paying for the project) has gone quiet. Outside.

Sort it

Can AI draft it, or does it need you?

Card 1 of 4

Decide whether to cut a feature or move the launch

Tap a group below, or drag the card onto it.

      Hand AI the first layer

      A prompt is the message you send to the AI. This one gives it shaping work and keeps the deciding with you:

      Here are my notes from this week's three project meetings.
      Turn them into decisions, open questions and action items.
      Give each action item the owner and date from my notes.
      Don't decide anything new. I'll check every line before it goes out.

      Fill the gaps

      Fill the gaps in the same prompt.

      Prompt

      Turn them into . Give each action item .

      Try it

      Your steps, about 2 minutes

      0 of 1
      1. 1.Start your PM AI kit, a note you keep. Save the prompt above in it, then run it on this week's notes in a tool your employer approved, with names swapped for roles. You now have a list of decisions, questions and actions.2 min

      Practice

      Question 1 of 3

      In the 2023 Harvard and BCG study, what happened on tasks inside AI's abilities?

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